Saison de cirque
Company
Cirque Aïtal
Country, city
France, Muret
Presentation of the company
In 2004, Victor Cathala and Kati Pikkarainen founded CIRQUE AÏTAL.
They toured their double hander duo « Victor & Kati », an efficient and stunning small show. They are noticed, called up and invited to join the big circuses. They choose cabaret and perfect their hand in hand duo on, amongst others, Dutch and German stages. In August 2005, they collaborated with Circo Aereo, a Finnish circus company and performed in Louisiana Circus at the International Festival of Helsinki as well as La Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris.
In 2006, Victor and Kati go on tour for 9 months, under the big top of the traditional Swiss circus company Circus Monti. It’s an important and successful experience.
In 2007, they create their first show « La Piste là » (The ring is here) with other acrobats, live music and the circular space of the big top. The tour lasts 4 years.
During the tour of « La Piste là » came the idea for a new show « Pour le meilleur et pour le pire » (For better or for worse) ; an hour long big top performance, in which they are both alone in the ring.
The show premiered in November 2011 and was very well received. It is still touring in its original form, as well as having a theatre version.
In 2017, they created their new show « Saison de cirque » (Circus season), under a big top bringing together 8 performers and 4 musicians. They achieve their dream: a big top, a big team and circus in its rawest form !
Show presentation
Strengthened by the extraordinary tour of their two hander performance : « Pour le meilleur et pour le pire », Victor and Kati have gone to meet the ‘others’ : new rings, new artists, new atmospheres and different worlds for their new creation, « Saison de Cirque ».
Happy to have assembled artists who have a big heart, old knowhow, remarkable artists who are real «blood brothers », they have invented their own Circus, and play its very essence : spectacular, grand and amusing feats ; with the excellence of the artists evoking the story of their bodies, their routines, their slice of circus life.
During, before and after the rehearsal ; during, before and after the performance, this lifestyle dedicated to the circus is brought down to its rawest elements. United together, going forever upwards with their energy on fire, the artists defy the laws of nature, gravity and their bodies.
Endlessly teased by a slapstick clown incarnated with both force and fantasy by Kati Pikkarainen, the « Saison de cirque » family brings us into the doorway of an undefinable new form of circus ; a type of old style new circus. « Saison de cirque » delivers the beautiful intimacy of the lifestyle dedicated to the ring.
Creative Team
Conception
Victor Cathala & Kati Pikkarainen
8 performers in the ring
Victor Cathala, Kati Pikkarainen, Lena Kanakova, Michail Kanakov, Vasilii Kanakov, Sergey Mazurin, Matias Salmenaho, Ludovic Baladin
4 musicians in the ring
Helmut Nünning, Hugo Piris, Benni Masuch, Julien Heurtel
2 horses in the ring
Quercy, Timo
Artistic Collaboration
Michel Cerda, Maksim Komaro
Musical score
Helmut Nünning, Hugo Piris, Benjamin Masuch, Julien Heurtel
Sound design
Andy Neresheimer
Costume Design
Séverine Thiébault
Lighting Design
Patrick Cathala
Technical Director & Production Manager
Bernard Bonin
Lighting technician
Thierry Azoulay
Sound engineer
Fanny Hugo
Stage Manager
Alexandre Tourneux, Allan Wyon
Set dressing
Alexander Bügel
Production Administration
Ingrid Rivet, Bérangère Gros
Production, co-production, credits
Production : Cirque Aïtal
Co-production : Agora, Centre Culturel Pôle National des Arts du Cirque Boulazac Aquitaine
Archaos, Pôle National des Arts du Cirque Méditerranée
Carré magique Lannion Trégor, Pôle National des Arts du Cirque in Brittany
Chateauvallon, national theatre
CIRCa, Pôle National Cirque Auch Gers Occitania
Le Parvis, national theatre of Tarbes
Les Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon
Théâtre Firmin Gémier/La Piscine, Pôle National des Arts du Cirque of Antony and Châtenay-Malabry
Residencies
Les Nuits de Fourvière ; Pôle national cirque in Île-de-France Théâtre Firmin Gémier – La Piscine ; CIRCa – Pôle national cirque Auch Gers Occitania ; Baro d’Evel, cirk compagnie ; Châteauvallon, national theatre.
With the support of DGCA, Ministry of Culture and Communication, of Drac Occitania, the Occitanie Pyrenees–Méditerranée Region the Île de France Region, SPEDIDAM assistance with territorial residencies.
The performance benefits from the PYRENART (FEDER) trans border co-operation project, within the framework of the Interreg V-A Spain-France-Andorra POCTEFA 2014-2020 project.
Performances
24-27/01/2019. Biennale Internationale des Arts du Cirque (BIAC), Marseilles (France).
02-05/05/2019. Cirque-Théâtre Elbeuf, Elbeuf (France).
30/05/2019. 02/06/2019. Carré Magique, Lannion (France).
Photo credits
Mario Del Curto